Butterflies in the Dark
by SevenRenny
Summary: She was shaking. He held her hand tighter and – through the darkness – managed to lean his blood-stained forehead against hers. With the little space he had, he got as close as he possibly could. "Ne, Deku… remember…. remember w-when we f-first met?" she asked. Injured and trapped under rubble, Izuku and Ochaco cling to each other. Through the darkness, they hold on. IzuOcha.


_Disclaimer:_ _I do not own My Hero Academia._

 _Note: Covers season 2_

 _Warning: Dark themes ahead_

* * *

 **Butterflies in the Dark**

 **SevenRenny**

It felt like his body had been pelted by stones. It was hard to breathe; one inhale filled his nostrils with the dust and sawdust and that strange odor that reminded him of construction sites. He shifted, and felt the heavy debris on his back slide off. He was flat on his stomach, and, after blinking a few times, found himself blind. His brain was still half-functional at this point. It hurt. His head, his arms and legs, his back – everything hurt. He braced himself and tried to list his head up. The back of his neck ached and the right side of his temple burned. He still couldn't see.

Something that felt like tiny ants crawling down his face alerted him. His gloved hand instinctively came up to touch the side of his face, until he heard the sound of dripping beneath him. Water? But it sounded too thick.

He heard the sound of sand dropping down from the ceiling like a waterfall. Sand… building… Where was he again?

Memories and pictures suddenly assaulted his mind. Training. Ruined building. Surprise villain attack. Then… then what? Come on, Deku, think! A building collapsing… Oh! He was in one of the broken down buildings when it had collapsed! What else… what else…

Ochaco Uraraka

His heart clinched. She had been with him when the building came down. He remembered. He remembered reaching out to each other, hands only inches away, when the rubble came down on them. His mind swirled with panic.

"Uraraka!"

 _Where was she?_

"Uraraka! Can you hear me?"

 _Please hear me._

"Uraraka!"

He pushed through the pain and agony just to sit up. He still couldn't see. It was hard to breathe. He couldn't balance himself right; it was like standing on a tilted ship. He strained his muscles and struggled to stand up – _oh god it hurt_ – and almost toppled forward. His gloved hands touched something solid, a wall, perhaps. He didn't know. He couldn't see.

The tickling sensation on his face traveled over his eye, down his cheek and chin, and after hearing the _drip-drip-drip_ of liquid hitting the ground, he realized he was bleeding from his head. He eye felt sticky and hot and his eyelid felt heavy. The blood was getting into his eye. His eye automatically snapped shut. His right arm and right leg stung and he couldn't feel his fingers.

"Uraraka!"

He reminded himself to keep calling. She had to be okay.

He tried to remove one of his arm bracers, but that was hard to do using his hurting hand. He wedged his hand between his other arm and his ribs and pulled his hand out from the arm bracer. Carelessly dropping the item, he started feeling around with his naked hand. He couldn't see, the ringing in his ears obscured his hearing, his whole side hurt, and all he could smell was sawdust and dirt. He limped through the darkness, calling out for his dear friend, not knowing where he was going.

"Urara – Gah!" His foot hit something and he stumbled forward, face _-_ planting into rubble. He hissed as pressure was added to his injuries. Something briefly brushed over his knuckles. He gasped and his head snapped up.

Something soft touched his hand. He turned his hand over and felt the other person's palm, then felt the little paw pads at the fingertips.

"De… Deku…?"

It was a whisper, and even through the buzzing in his ears, he heard her.

"Uraraka," he answered back, letting her know he'd heard her. He dragged himself closer using his elbow and gripped her hand tighter. "It's me, Uraraka. I'm here..."

"Deku…" she sighed deeply. While it seemed to be from relief, he heard her breathing heavily. She seemed to be struggling to breathe. This didn't sound right.

"Uraraka, can you move?" he needed to know how badly she was hurt. If only he could just _see_ her…

She gasped, and then hissed in pain. It took her a while to finally answer. "I… I don't think so…" She let out a tiny whimper. She was hurting. She was scared.

And it was killing him, not knowing how badly she was hurting.

"It's okay," he whispered to her, trying to reassure her. He dragged himself even closer, close enough to bump into her shoulder. His hand traveled up her arm, then her shoulder, and then he felt her cracked helmet. He was so grateful she had it on. It was almost cracked in half like an eggshell. He didn't want to imagine that being her skull instead. Her helmet wasn't designed to withstand heavy impact, so he wasn't surprised to find that the whole glass had cracked when his fingers glided over it. Tiny bits crumbled at his feather-like touch.

"It'll be okay, it's okay," he repeated as he slowly peeled her ruined helmet off, not wanting the sharp bits to dig into her eyes. She still wasn't breathing right. Had she cracked her ribs? "Is it… Is it okay for me to check–" he froze when his hand ran over her side and felt something _wet_.

 _No…_

Panic fogged his thoughts. He ran his palm over her side again, checking for a wound or anything–

 _No, no, no, no, this can't be happening._

There was a metal pole sticking out of her.

She was bleeding.

She was _stabbed_ by a pole.

She whimpered and cried out when he repeated the motion with his hand. Feeling around, hoping this wasn't it.

"I'm sorry." He could feel the hot tears squeezing out of his eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. Hang in there, I'm sorry…" Indeed, a pole was stabbing her. She was on her side, and the metal stick was somewhere around her side, penetrating her tender skin. How deep had it gone? He couldn't imagine the agony she was in. There were rocks piled above her, from what he could feel. She was saved from being crushed due to the empty upside-down V formation of rocks just over her body. The other half of the pole was inside the rocks. She was stuck.

"De… Deku…" she whimpered.

He didn't need to see her face to know she was crying. He was crying as well. They were both scared. "I'm still here." He went back to her face and brushed her hair back. "I'm still here. It's okay. It's okay. I won't leave you. Just… Just stay strong. It's okay." He was flat on his belly at this point, anything to be as close as he could to her. She held his other hand as he continued to pet her.

How far down had they fallen? Would kicking a hole in the wall cause an avalanche of building parts to fall on them? What could he do, then? He feared moving her in any way would only hurt her further. He couldn't remove the pole. It was what stopped her from bleeding out. Before the collapse, half of the building had been submerged in the ground. So where had they ended up after the explosion? They were already scared, and he didn't want to think about the possibility of being buried alive.

Their friends. They were still out there.

He had to depend on them. The explosion had been too loud to not notice. It had been an abnormal explosion, and with the sudden appearance of a villain in the same area, he wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to have been a bomb that set it all off.

She was shaking. He held her hand tighter and – through the darkness – managed to lean his blood-stained forehead against hers. With the little space he had, he got as close as he possibly could. She was breathing too hard, too fast, whimpering and crying, shivering, and in so much pain; she was freaking out, and he couldn't blame her. He hoped this close proximity would give her some comfort. He made sure to not touch any of the debris, fearing he might cause a chain of falling rocks.

She groaned and plopped her head against the hard ground, her sore neck unable to hold on anymore.

"Stay with me, it'll be okay." He was scared shitless and panicking out of his mind, but he had to at least pretend to be calm, if only for her sake. "Can you hear me?"

Judging by her pained wheezing and ruff panting, she was awake, but he wasn't sure how conscious she really was. She'd called him by name, but had she actually heard him? Or had she just called for him because he had been the last person she'd seen when they fell?

"… Ye… Yeah… I'm sorry…"

He wasn't sure why she was apologizing, but he had a feeling she was blaming herself. He gently rubbed his forehead against hers. The blood from his head wound trickled down over her, smudging her hair a darker brown. Red lines and droplets decorated her face.

"We'll get out," he assured her. "Just breathe. Okay? Try to stay awake. You're so strong. You can do it." Keep her calm. Keep her calm. Ignore the fact that she was a _freaking pole in her side_ and just keep her calm. Never mind how dizzy he felt; never mind how it seemed like he was being tossed around by unforeseen waves; she mattered more.

They were both sweating and shivering and unable to get up. It was too cramped, too stuffy, too dusty. He disparately craved to breathe clean air again. He still couldn't see. He couldn't help but feel claustrophobic. He couldn't help but fear the place might collapse on them at any time.

"…Deku…"

He kept his head pressed to hers, hearing her soft, tired voice.

"Right here…" His head spun and there was an uncomfortable pressure in his head. Stars floated in his vision. There was a sort of wetness on her skin. Was that her blood? His blood? Her tears or his? Or was that just sweat?

"Uraraka?"

"J-J-Just… wanted t-to check… i-if you're a-awake…"

"I'm awake…" It was hard to breathe. He could feel his consciousness slipping… No, he couldn't abandon her.

"Ne, Deku…"

"…Yeah?"

"…Remember…. Remember w-when we f-first met?"

His brain was too slow to formulate her words into actual information. Oh, she wanted to keep them both talking. Okay. He could manage that.

"Yeah…" His words were delayed, as if his mouth was too tired to cooperate with the signals sent from his brain. "You… y-you saved me… twice." Despite his throbbing head and feeling like crying all over again, he managed a weak chuckle. "I was so nervous…"

"You saved me…" Her voice was a tiny whisper due to the excruciating pain. "You… you're so – so cool, D-Deku…" she sighed and took a few minutes to catch her breath. "You made me… t-try my best… because – because I want to be… cool like you."

"Uraraka…"

"You're… amazing… and kind… and b-brave…"

In the darkness of this empty, quiet void, there was a flutter of tiny wings. A blue butterfly landed right at the tip of a sharp chunk of rock. It had strayed too far from the green bushes and white flowers outside.

"Uraraka, you're amazing." He finally managed to choke out. Thick bile clogged his throat. He tried to move his legs, but they weren't responding to his commands. It was hard to stay focused. _Stay up, stay up, don't pass out now._

He combed his fingers through her hair, and she tiredly brought his hand to her neck. They were both too shaky to pay attention to how close their faces were. His fingers were too cold to feel the evidence of her heartbeat from her neck.

"You've… always had my back…" Was his voice even working anymore? "You a-always try so hard–" Just keep talking, come on. "You're… You're… an amazing person… an amazing f-friend…" The next words didn't leave his mouth. His jaws opened and closed, but air refused to move through his vocal cords. Instead, all he managed to do was gasp.

She hadn't said anything in a while.

He could feel her breathing, but she didn't respond when he tightened his fingers around her hand and shook her hand.

"Ur-arak-a?" His voice cracked a million times.

She didn't respond.

She was cold.

Or was it him who's cold?

He shook her hand again. Nothing. She was still breathing, but he was losing her. A chocked sob bubbled out of his slimy throat. "Please… y-you have to s-stay awake…" He nudged her head with his, encouraging her to not lose consciousness.

The blue butterfly fluttered in circles, looking for a way out, before taking a break on another rock.

"Remember… w-when you told us w-why you wanted to – to be a hero? To help y-your parents? You… You ha-have to do your best… so you can h-help them. Do you r-remember?"

He knew she wouldn't be able to see him, but despite that, and his pain, and the stuffy air, and his skull-splitting headache, he managed a wobbly smile, desperate and forced, but still a smile. "Do you remember? Y-You said we'd do o-our best, so – so let's do our best." His teary eyes were barely kept open, fatigue swallowing him. His strained neck went limp and he dropped his head. "Let's… do our best…" His voice came out as a watery sob.

He felt her fingers twitch in his palm, and it was enough to let him know she heard him.

A light beam flashed from the sky, shining a spotlight over the butterfly on the rock. The circle of light grew as did the hole in the sky. An earphone jack peeked down through the hole, twisting around like radars, pinpointing the exact location of the two heartbeats down there.

"– _down there!"_

" _We need light."_

" _Here, take this – I'll make another, hold on."_

" _Call the recovery unit over–"_

" _I'll get working on a pulley system. Someone needs to go down there."_

" _I'll go in, Sero!"_

" _On it!"_

" _Careful, guys!"_

" _I'm coming, too!"_

The blue butterfly fluttered its wings and flew over to the two injured comrades, landing on Izuku's knuckle, right on the hand that held Ochaco's. Their unmoving bodies stayed still, heads pressed to each other, their blood pooling and mixing beneath them.

The light in the sky grew bigger. Someone was being lowered down by Sero's tape. Kirishima looked around, the newly-made headlamp on his head shining the way as he dangled from the white line. He looked around frantically, and the flashlight on his head caught the two still bodies.

"Found them!" he yelled up. He checked beneath him to make sure there was somewhere to land. "Sero, bring me down!" While being lowered, he scanned them with his eyes again, then the surrounding area. A dark trail stretched over the rocks, ending where Izuku lay. A bloody trail. The longer he looked, the faster his heart rammed against his chest. They were surrounded in darkness, and he hoped – he dearly hoped that was just the darkness in the room, and not a puddle of their own blood.

A stretcher was lowered after him, and he immediately screamed up for assistance.

Dry blood coated the whole side of his face as Izuku's half-opened eye glazed over, his other eye closed shut, covered in a layer of crusty dry blood. There was light, just enough for him to make out a few blurred colors and shapes. There was her hair, covered in dark smudges where he had stroked her. They were face-to-face. His single eye traveled to the side, at their dark-red hands, still holding each other. The blue winged butterfly that stood atop his hand stood out against the dark red, almost black background, its wings slowly closing and opening in an almost robotic manner.

It fluttered away when the sounds of clapping shoes approached. Hands were all over him. People shouted orders. Painful light stabbed at his eye. He was drowning in obscured sounds and the battle to stay awake in his own head.

" _Oh shit, holy shit – it's through her…"_

" _She's stuck."_

" _Ashido, can you melt this?"_

" _I'm on it – I'm on it!"_

"Get _the stretcher–"_

His eye finally closed. He felt a force on his hand, trying to peel it off of Ochaco's. He used whatever strength left in him to try and hold on to her.

" _C'mon, buddy. We've got her."_

He recognized that voice. He knew that person. Kiri… Kirishima, right? He wasn't sure. His memory refused to work properly. He heard the word concussion, but forgot what it meant. He couldn't focus.

Suddenly, he couldn't feel anything, or see, or hear. He was swimming in nothingness, drifting aimlessly through his own mind. He felt cold. Was time passing by? For how long had h been like this? He was so confused.

There was a sudden coldness in his chest. He cracked his eyes open, and then regretted it immediately when blinding light assaulted his vision. He tried again, willing himself to push through the pain and figure out what was going on.

A white ceiling. His eyes traveled to the side, and he saw the IV drip hanging by a hook. He blinked to clear his mind.

"Midoriya."

Izuku slowly turned to see who had spoken. Iida closed the book he had in his hands and carefully placed it aside.

"You're awake. I'm so glad you're okay."

Izuku blinked again, still not fully awake. He glanced down at his bandaged hand and the needle stuck to him. His hand… he had been holding hers… hers…

"I'll go get the doctor," Iida said and was about to stand when a hand brushed over his arm. He looked at Izuku curiously, examining the distress in his features, before realizing what he friend was trying to ask him in his fogged up mind.

"Don't worry." Iida got up and pushed the white curtain aside, revealing a sleeping Ochaco in a hospital gown, an IV in her arm and other lines surrounding her.

"The surgery went well. She'll be alright," he informed Izuku kindly. "Let me go get the doctor. I'll go ahead and call the others. They've been visiting regularly."

Izuku gave him a weak smile, appreciating his friend. The taller young man left, leaving Izuku with Ochaco in the other bed. A breathing tube was under her nose and some sort of clip on her finger. He couldn't see it well from where he was. Her breathing was smoother, quieter. She wasn't gasping in pain or crying. She wasn't withering on the floor in her own blood. She wasn't fading away.

"I'm so glad you're okay…" he managed to whisper. He sighed heavily and let himself relax.

"'m happy you're okay, too."

He snapped back to look at her. She opened her eye and glanced at him, managing a weak smile. "Deku."

He could truly relax now. They were both scarred and tired, but alive. He'd be lying if he didn't admit the experience had shaken, but he couldn't stop here. They couldn't stop here. They had a long way to go, and they'd make sure to do their best.

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 _Note: Just a fast short story I did on my free time. I've written Izuku getting hurt, but I've never done a hurtOchaco before, so I gave it a try. I think some of you already know how I like to add symbolism every now and then. And if you hadn't noticed, the title says butterflies, not just one. I'm going to let you figure that one out._


End file.
